Choosing the right search engine optimization company can be a difficult decision for many business owners, and even more so for those owners who aren’t especially technically savvy. In an industry where standards and methods are all over the board, and where quality is a subjective term, comparing companies is a challenge.

If there are two adages that describe choosing SEO services, they are definitely "You get what you pay for" and "Always compare apples to apples."

Always Compare Apples to Apples

Many business owners and decision makers make the mistake of thinking that while researching SEO firms, they are looking at a group of companies offering the same service at different prices.

This is a dangerous misconception.

It is crucial to the success of your campaign that you understand that SEO services cannot be bought on price point alone. Buying cheap SEO services is definitely in invitation for poor quality services, and even worse, can invite a penalty in Google.

There are a lot of SEO companies out there that claim they offer SEO services, but in general very few of them are actually any good at what they do.

Companies looking for SEO services that will truly take their online business to the next level and beyond would do well to understand exactly what each company is offering. When there is a significant price difference between reputable companies, you can usually bet that there is also a difference in service, deliverables, and methods.

At Increase Visibility, we utilize all of the basic and foundational SEO practices that are fundamental for success. This is generally something you can expect from most notable companies. However, in addition to these methods, we also use cutting edge tactics that are far ahead of 99% of SEO companies in the industry. We have an extremely high client retention rate that reflects the amazing results we achieve for our clients’ bottom lines. Unlike many other companies who simply look at traffic or rankings, we assess conversion and ROI as one of the most important measurements of success.

You Get What You Pay For

Generally speaking, quality SEO that yields measurable results is going to take expertise, the use of the latest methods and a dedicated team. So, it’s a pretty safe bet that any company offering SEO services for, let’s say a few hundred dollars, is probably giving you the runaround − either knowingly or because they are misguided in their ideas of what SEO really is.

Also, many business owners make the mistake of thinking that with SEO everything can be done fast, cheap and with high quality. Although this is a very understandable desire, this is not the reality. You can certainly get fast and cheap, or fast and high quality, but expecting all three is going to leave you disappointed. Unfortunately, many SEO firms take advantage of this desire and make a lot of empty promises--And remember that what can seem like a bargain deal doesn’t simply waste money, it wastes time enough to allow your competitors to gain an increasing lead on you.

Let’s look at an example that we come across fairly often. Let’s say you are an insurance company running a decently designed site. You are doing well with your other advertising, but decide that you could be doing something that will generate more clients online. So you hire the SEO firm that offers you the best price. Maybe the services they offer you are basic. Maybe they outsource to India. Maybe they really have no idea what they are doing…

In a scenario like this that we just came across this week, the business owner did go with the firm that offered the best (read, cheapest) price.

The result?

He paid the fees for the contract, they got every single page on his site blacklisted with Google, and he never heard from them again. Now, he is in the market for a new SEO firm and will not only pay for a quality SEO campaign, but he will have to pay to remedy all the damage done by the other firm. The time that he lost to his competitors will never be regained.

On the other hand, when you consider what a top of the line SEO firm can do (a 150 percent increase or more), then the consideration of time, effort and investment should be balanced with that type of ROI potential. And this type of service simply costs more.

What you pay for SEO should be reflected in your ROI. And the reality is that with a stellar SEO company, it doesn’t matter if the price is higher, as long as you make a lot more money because of it.

Like they say, "You get what you pay for."